Portland is a giving city.

Many places have community gardens.  There are lots of cities where people put their old furniture and appliances on the curb with a “free” sign.   Portland, it seems, takes it a step further.

Like a lot of places, Portland is experiencing a renaissance of home vegetable gardens.

One of my co-workers brings in tomatoes from her garden, another brings in basil.  Another brings in squash and cucumbers from her family’s garden.  We share produce and recipes and the things that we make.  One of my co-workers even lives in a neighborhood where they share produce in a community overflow box.  Whatever overflow a family has from their garden, they put in the box, and other families trade for produce of their own.  Brilliant.

Just down the street from where I live, there’s a funky house that uses almost every square foot of its yard to grow food.  Sprinkled in the beds are children’s toys and ceramic figures.  In the strip of dirt between the sidewalk and the street sits a box labeled “FREE,” where the owners of the house place all manner of useful items.  Depending on the time of the year, the box holds shoes, gloves, blankets and coats.

It’s a little box of humanity, allowing those in need to help themselves, without having to knock on a stranger’s door and ask.

This week, when walking to dinner, I happened upon this.  If free is good, why not take it a step further and give someone their own door?

I mean really, why not?